DETROIT — Jalen Duren missed out on the chance to impact the Detroit Pistons in their last two wins due to injury.
Monday night he was done watching from the sideline, returning to action against the Indiana Pacers and putting on a feature performance.
With a 31-points, 15-rebound double-double — his eighth of the season — Duren led the Pistons to a 127-112 victory at Little Caesars Arena to continue the NBA’s longest winning streak to 10 games.
Detroit never trailed, relying on a strong defensive night that kept the Pacers shooting 41% from the field and 29% from deep for the night and capitalized on their 21 turnovers for 30 points.
Daniss Jenkins and Javonte Green added 26 and 20 points, respectively, as the pair continue to thrive in the absence of Cade Cunningham and Ausar Thompson — who missed their third and fourth straight games.
The Pistons (12-2) started their night leaning on veteran guard Duncan Robinson hitting three shots from beyond the arc in just over six minutes of game time.
Meanwhile, Duren was only just getting started, backing down the Pacers (1-13) front court in the paint and finishing at the rim for six early points of his own.
After missing the last two games due to a right ankle sprain, there was little notice of restrictions or limitations in his game as he announced his return with an emphatic alley-oop over Indiana’s Benedict Mathurin in the first half.
The Pacers kept things close at 26-21 after the first quarter, but the Pistons defense had already limited them under 30% shooting from the field.
It was the second quarter Duren truly took over, scoring nine points and helping Detroit mount a 24-4 run that extended from the end of the first into the second quarter.
The Pistons’ center wasn’t just feasting in the paint, he was hitting his jumpshot from midrange and earning his trips to the foul line. By the end of the half, Duren had 18 points and nine rebounds. He would go 12-of-13 from the field for the night.
Detroit kept a late surge from the Pacers behind Pascal Siakam, finishing with a team-high 29 points for the night, from getting out of hand and took a 62-46 lead into halftime.
The Pistons didn’t waste much time growing their lead to its largest point of the night with an 11-3 run out of halftime, going ahead by 24.
Green and Caris LeVert took the reins in maintaining the lead as the pair combined for 13 points in the quarter. LeVert, a former Pacers wing, added four assists in the period, serving as the primary facilitator.
Over the past six games, LeVert is averaging 12.2 points and 4.5 assists off the bench. Green logged the first back-to-back 20-plus point games of his career, posting 20 against the Pacers after finishing with 21 against the Philadelphia 76ers.
It didn’t stop Indiana from trying to make a late run in the fourth quarter, getting the deficit down to as little as eight after Mathurin’s 23-point second half.
But down the stretch Isaiah Stewart — who had been assessed an early flagrant foul — locked down in the paint and flipped the momentum to Detroit’s favor several times with a crowd-pleasing block. He finished with a career-high five blocks and 10 points, primarily coming in the second half.
Jenkins and Duren finished out strong, combining for 23 points in the fourth quarter to finish off the Pacers and continue their dominant run of form to double-digit consecutive victories.
BOX SCORE
Up next: The Pistons face the Atlanta Hawks Tuesday night on the road before a three-day break.
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